General Conference, Day -2 #UMCGC #UMC

The 2016 General Conference of the United Methodist Church starts Tuesday, May 10 and runs through May 20. This quadrennial gathering of the global UMC sets the agenda for the denomination for the next four years, elects people to our boards and agencies, and makes important decisions of theology and church structure. I will be going as a reserve delegate, part of the delegation from the North Georgia Conference.

As this is my first General Conference to attend in person, I am excited to be present for this work and to support the North Georgia delegation; I am also admittedly anxious (I know, I know). I do want to acknowledge that much of the base of the support I received in my election came from new clergy who likewise have not yet been present for General Conference. Part of my goal over the next two weeks is to share perspective on the General Conference experience for those of my colleagues who have not yet been, and for the edification of the (remarkable!) congregation I serve as pastor. I'll be blogging about what I am seeing and doing, starting tomorrow with just how our elections work and what a reserve delegate does. If you have questions about anything related to General Conference, you can email me here. You can also follow the #umcgc hashtag on Twitter, and follow me at @herevrush.

In the meantime, I hope you'll be in prayer for those decision-makers who are discerning God's will for the church. Peace.